Ailana Shave Ice Waikiki

Tropical Trio. Amazing.
Seems all the best shave ice places have the same machine. If the place doesn’t have that machine then it just won’t be as good!
This place was in the food court under a fairly deserted mall in the center of Waikiki. We got there just before closing and the place was very bare. That was because they were closing for a few weeks and moving to another location. We were lucky enough to have one of the last shave ice creations from this current location.
The owner/​operator was a friendly chap and the shave ice was as good as any other place we’ve been to.
He mentioned they were being forced out for some other shop but thankfully this place will live on in another part which was heartening.

Best shaved ice of the century. I’m not a local, but because I was on a vacation time crunch, I ventured out to as many possible shaved ice locations to make sure I ate the cream of the crop.
Calpico + Red Bean = Love
On top of that, they give you plenty when you ask for samples. When the cashier first handed me my bowl for a sample of green tea (also delish!) I thought that was the final result. But nooooooo, I was greatly mistaken, a size small bowl is actually bigger than my average bowl of breakfast cereal.
If I ever go on vacation at Waikiki again, I will definitely come back and stalk this place.

This place is so amazing. i love that this place is a hidden gem within Waikiki considering all the tourists traps there are.
I ordered their Peanut Butter Caramel. It was seriously the best thing I’ve ever tasted. I love peanut butter and I loved shaved ice. This was the best combo ever!
The only drawback is that they usually only have a 1 – 2 workers so if there are a lot of people ahead of you, it might take 5 – 10 minutes to get your shaved ice, but that’s definitely better than waiting 30min to an hour in the North Shore at Matsumotos!
Must place to go!

No idea how something that looks like a pile of swamp monster could taste so good.
Must get the strawberry milk, add on red beans, forget the mochi, bring cash.

Definitely try their homemade syrups! Fluffy white ice and you can pick your favorite syrups or choose from the premade set. You can ask for samples if you like.
I like Grava, Calpico, and Strawberry Milk. Some said their green tea is really good too. Give a shot! Its one of the most famous shave ice place in the heart of Waikiki.

Came across Ailanas thanks to Unilocal!I would not have found this place on my own since it’s located in the bottom floor of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza. It’s in the center of Waikiki so it is really convenient for those staying near the area.
My friend and I shared the tropical trio which came with mango, papaya, haupia, ice cream and condensed milk. Woah they are very generous with their portions. The tropical trio was $ 5 and I think it was definitely worth it for their size and convenience of their location.
I love how soft their ice was! It melts in your mouth instantly. One of the softest shave ice I’ve had so far. The mango papaya and haupia flavors complemented each other well. It seemed like they had flavors that were unique to their store so I will have to come back and try them next time!
I’m happy to find out that you don’t have to drive all the way to the north shore for some good shave ice :)
FYI CASH ONLY!

Loved my shave ice! I got Li Hing Mui, Blue Hawaii, pineapple, ice cream and condensed milk. Yum!

mmmmmm

I think of Waikiki as having notoriously poor quality food relative to the prices charged because tourists are willing to pay top dollar and don’t know any better, but I have to admit I was pretty impressed with this shave ice shop in a food court in the heart of Waikiki!
1) Very good ice — when it comes to shave ice, everything starts and ends with the ice: it should be shaved so finely that it melts on your tongue upon contact, chilling your mouth to perfection without giving you massive brain freeze or breaking your teeth due to grinding ice chunks the size of rock salt!
2) The service was fantastic. All 3 of the employees had great attitudes and personalities and really seemed like they loved what they do; totally spreading the aloha!
3) It was a bummer they didn’t have azuki beans available when we were there, but I was glad they chose not to serve a bad bunch that didn’t cook correctly instead of just serving them and hoping no one would notice it. They seem to take pride in making a quality shave ice tower and it shows.
4) The size of the shave ice is pretty generous (just right for serving two… or one XL American :-)
Given that I expected to pay a bit more of the «waikiki tax», I thought the cost per quantity/​quality ratio was quite favorable.
Although Waiolas is still my favorite in Oahu, Ailana is a close second, and definitely the best shave ice I’ve tried in Waikiki so far! I’d like to go back and try the azuki beans next time!

My newest favorite dessert spot! Tasty on a hot day, will need to visit during the evening for day-​saa-​to! Thanks to Unilocalers, I read Nat N’s. review that they let you taste flavors, but I forgot all about that when I saw Green Tea.
Parking/​Location.: Well Waikiki what do you expect? It’s located in the Waikiki shopping plaza; don’t miss it go down the escalator and it’s on your right hand side as soon as you get off.
I’ve parked at the zoo and walked Waikiki, and my friend said there is an app where you can manage your parking and add more time from your phone. I park at the Royal Hawaiian and get it validated with purchase from ABC store.
SHAVE ICE: I looove green tea, so of course had the Uji Kintoki with azuki, ice cream and mochi sans the condensed milk, had it mixed with Haupia. So good other flavors tasted Dreamsicle (tasted yes like a creamsicle) and PB and caramel, a bit on the sweet side but nonetheless, so delicious.
I like to try different flavors, and can’t understand why some places charge you more or say «NO».
I’ll take this any day over the new snow stuff. Reasonably priced, soft billowy shave ice. Next Strawberry Milk please! Or maybe Chocolate Haupia?

On our last day in Honolulu, the wife was craving some Hawaiian shave ice. We did not have enough time to make it out to the North Shore before Matsumoto’s closed, so we started looking at Unilocal and it helped us find Ailana Shave Ice — and we are sure glad that we did!
Since we were staying in Waikiki, the fact that this was within 5 minute walking from our hotel… and also stayed open until 9 PM were both pluses. When we arrived, they were already about to close (the little grate was halfway down)…but the person in charge was kind enough to wave us in (I guess we looked like tourists).
While they were out of some of their signature items, we still both thoroughly enjoyed our guava/​grape and green tea/​strawberry milk Hawaiian shave ice. My wife and I also both agreed that we enjoyed this Hawaiian shave ice much more than we did Matsumoto’s (we tried Matsumoto’s last year).
We’ll be back the next time we go to Hawaii.

Hello nice owner who allowed me to answered my questions about the different flavors and allowed to sample everything!
Besides that, their strawberry milk flavor is nothing I’ve ever had. It tastes as if a milky strawberry flavor with strawberry seeds were infused with the SOFT SOFT shaved hawaiian ice. The owner explained that Hawaiian shaved ice is different because of its fine shavings. It literally melts in your mouth within the first encounter.
You can add multiple flavors in ONE dish. Ask the owner what he recommends because he knows best. I got the calpico + strawberry milk. SO GOOD and just $ 5!

Unilocal, you did me proud.
Ailana’s is tucked into a very nondescript underground food court; you would certainly miss it unless specifically seeking it out, but once you do find your way there, you’ll be back.
Every.
Day.
Seriously, I was one among MANY returning customers, and by returning customers, I mean there…
Every.
Day.
Walk up to the counter and the same guy awaits morning to night, ready to craft your masterpiece of a dessert. No other employees. Just him. Working hard. Making great ice.
Ah… the choices. Feel free to make your own combinations of flavors or go with one of their specialty creations for 6 bucks. I chose the Kintoki (
), a green tea flavored, azuki bean smothered, and mochi covered piece of heaven that was drizzled in oh so decadent condensed milk (I’m a simple gal). Let’s not forget the scoop of ice cream they hide him the middle (
)! Such a truly fantastic combo (
). In fact, I liked it so much, I ordered it again on returning trips and added extra mochi as well as fresh coconut shavings. Sound good? Yea, it was.
If green tea is not your cup of. tea, well there are plenty of other choices to satisfy your sweet tooth. Strawberry milk, passion fruit, guava etc. not to mention that all their syrups are HOMEMADE! None of that artificial nonsense ;). The ice has such a fluffy texture unlike other shave ice I’ve had which truly sets them apart. Behold, ice as gourmet as ice can get.
Needless to say, I’m a fan… no, an addict. Better than Waiola’s IMO. Yeaaaaaaa, I said it =X. I can’t wait to return and shovel more of the stuff into my face.

The shave ice here is amazing! Especially the green tea kintoki shave ice!
The kintoki shave ice consist of green tea shave ice with red bean, fresh mochi and ice cream inside. It was so deliicious that i couldn’t stop thinking about it and had to come back the next day!
I also tried the tropical shave ice here and thought it was okay. I highly recommend the kintoki shave ice!
The service was very nice and friendly.

(Dined 1÷10÷12 TU): When I think of Hawaii, thoughts of Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, sun, surf, hula, ukulele, macadamia nuts, and shave ice come to mind!
In Waikiki for the day as part of a 14-​day cruise with Princess Cruises roundtrip Los Angeles, my friend and I were taking in the sights, sounds, and food. We have been walking and snorkeling all morning long so it was time to build up our energy and get some good local grinds in us before we set out on our next adventure. We already grubbed at the International Marketplace, but now it was time to finally introduce my friend to shave ice, the ultimate Hawaii treat!
Thanks to my mobile Unilocal app, it led us to Ailana Shave Ice, which wasn’t too far away from the International Marketplace. I’ve had shave ice many times before both on the Islands and back on the mainland, but never had I experienced what I can only call gourmet-​style shave ice. Of all my shave ice experiences, I’ve never had it served to me in a bowl. It’s always been in the paper cup cone which would leak on you if you didn’t eat it fast enough (now, you can get a non-​environment friendly plastic container to solve this problem).
So, after I began drooling over the menu, I ordered a large Azuki Lover (azuki bean, vanilla ice cream, condensed milk, mochi — $ 5.00). Watching it get made was pure entertainment, and the conversation with the master shave ice maker was fun, too (sorry, I can’t remember his name, but he was very friendly and cool). It seemed like eternity before I got my edible masterpiece, but that was only because I couldn’t wait to dive into it. It’s like watching your girlfriend or wife get all dressed-​up in something sexy and slinky only to be tearing it off her soon after and doing the nasty! Pure tease moment.
I finally got this sculpture of goodness, and before I ravaged it, I had to size it up like playing a game of Jenga. One wrong entry scoop and the whole thing can come toppling down. Yes, you need a gameplan to eat this volcano-​looking thing so it doesn’t end up in your lap or on the table. Once I figured it out, it was showtime! A scoop here and a slurp there, I was in heaven. The ice was so fluffy yet still had some body to it. The azuki beans and mochi was a true treat, and the buried vanilla ice cream was like a hidden treasure underneath it all. Honest perfection, I could have used a cigarette after I finished it about 30 minutes later!
The service was great, although my friend and I were the only people in there at the time. But as I said, the bruddah making me my snack and I were just shooting the breeze.
Parking is ample, since it appears to be part of a shopping center. However, my friend and I walked, so I can’t say for sure.
Overall, Ailana Shave Ice made me one of the BEST DAMN SHAVE ICE I’VE EVER HAD! I don’t know if I can go back to the basic shave ice anymore. Absolute value as noted by the price I quoted above (total bill was $ 5 before tip), and boy was I stuffed! The atmosphere is completely casual (come on, you’re in Waikiki!), but there is limited seating inside the actual place (there are also seats and tables outside into the mall). Sadly, I will have to dock this place one star. They don’t take my credit card (cash only) of choice… AMEX!

Having a bad day? need something special to cheer you up? not craving for yogurt? ice cream? cookies? cake? donuts…
WELL If you are looking for that special shaved ice, THIS is the place! let me tell ya!
The place wasn’t that hard to find, because it is inside the shopping center! I was reading other Unilocal reviews and read that the Strawberry Milk was good, and I was NOT disappointed. Omg, best invention EVER! Just as good as back home!
My husband also got the Tropical Trio! That was sooo good too!
It was cute customer service, knowing that it’s family owned, meaning two cute little kids took my order and made my dessert of joy.
Eating their shaved ice, was like having a bit of happiness put inside you with every bite, when you are taking each bite, you can NOT help but smile because of the deliciousness and just how creamy and smooth the taste is when you eat it. You take a nice spoonful again, and you feel like your 8yrs old on a hot summers day all over again!
You can buy happiness here, for as long as this place is open! I can’t wait to come back and try the other flavors!

I am surprised Waikiki has a great shaved ice place. This is the place to go when you are too lazy to drive to Haleiwa for Matsumoto or Aoki.
The worker told me that I could use free topping coupon. I didn’t want any condensed milk so the nice guy gave me 10 percent discount.
Ordered tropical trio: mango, papaya, haupia, and ice cream for $ 5 minus the discount.
My shaved ice was so good. I forgot to order mine with azuki bean though. I honestly like Ailana better than Matsumoto for many different reasons.
1. The ice is not coarse like Matsumoto’s.
2. The flavors are better, especially the haupia. I think they use coconut milk for haupia because it’s super good. Mango and papaya flavors are so intense.
3. I dont’ have to drive far. This place is located inside Waikiki Plaza basement right next to Baskin Robbins.
4. Friendly and fast service. No line when I got there.
5. Served in a big paper bowl so the mess is minimal compared to typical cone.
Yes, it is more expensive if you are comparing this to $ 2.50 Matsumoto. But the size is much bigger and I don’t have to rent a car to go here. I think mine was one of the house specialties… they also have a cheaper price for the basic ones.
QUICK TIP: FREE TOPPING WITH COUPON FROM HAWAIIAN UP!
Ailana shaved ice is yummylicious!

Customer service is unbelievable, especially for Waikiki.
Unilocal
The bf and I were in Waikiki, so I told him I wanted to check out Ailana. The bf, a die-​hard Shimazu fan, thought against it at first, but was easily convinced after I told him about the high ratings on Unilocal.
LOCATION
Ailana Shave Ice is located in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza food court. Entering from the Kalakaua Street entrance, Ailana is located down the stairs (to the food court) and to the right. This wonderful shave ice spot shares a space with The Sandwich Shop. Convenient if you’re looking for a place to eat and a refreshing dessert afterwards.
GREAT SERVICE
The owner was the only one working at the time we went. (I wish we had gotten his name because he was so incredibly nice and generous!) This was our virgin roll at Ailana Waikiki, and the owner could tell. He was so nice to let us try a variety of different flavors before making our final selection.
HOMEMADE FLAVORS
Because the flavors were all so tasty, the bf and I had a difficult time deciding. The Strawberry Milk, however, was a no brainer. The bf went with half of their popular homemade flavor Strawberry Milk and half of their traditional flavor Dreamsicle.
I chose the homemade flavors grape and guava. Vanilla cream, calpico, green tea, and cranberry-​raspberry flavors were exceptionally tasty as well.
*Homemade flavors are made with real fruit. You can see the many strawberry seeds in the Strawberry Milk flavor!
MORE FLUFFY, LESS ICY
The shave ice is different from most other shave ice places with thick, icy ice. Ailana’s ice is more fluffy and less icy, if that makes sense. It’s delicate and soaks up the syrup perfectly. I also appreciate the fact that at Ailana they poke the mound of freshly shaven ice with a chopstick /​hashi, so that the syrup is distributed evenly.
*Cash ONLY
Unilocal 365 — #086/​365

When my friend had heard that Ailana Shave Ice opened in Waikiki, next to one of our favorite ramen places (Kiwami), we took no time in setting up a dinner date with friends to check it out!
As Shay F points out, the atmosphere isn’t there. It’s in a spot formerly occupied by Starbucks, and since the owner of Ailana and the neighboring sandwich lady did not invest in renovations, it still has that Starbucks feel — dark, low lighting, etc.
But, what I love about Ailana Waikiki is the owner and his fabulous shave ice creations. First of all, he gave us samples of his off-​the-​menu flavors — chocolate haupia, vanilla cream, and root beer float. I don’t know of any other shave ice place that will give you samples. Yay!
They also have a menu of «homemade» flavors, like green tea, strawberry milk, lilikoi, haupia, etc. These homemade creations are way supreme to the fake sugary syrups at other shave ice places (Ailana also offers a few of these syrups as well). If you come to Ailana, you’ll want to go for their homemade syrups.
While I thought the chocolate haupia was to die for, I stuck with my usual strawberry milk/​haupia combo (both are homemade syrups) and added mochi. It came out to around $ 4.50, which is not bad considering it’s Waikiki, and the serving was generous.
It’s a harder sell for the locals, because of their location in Waikiki, but if you’re in the area, or you’re visiting Oahu and staying in Waikiki, you’ll definitely want to check them out!

I heard this place just opened yesterday? So I had to come and check out the new Waikiki store.
It was… sad. I mean it’s the same goodness, but the atmosphere was so dark and gloomy.
I’ll stick with getting my Ailana shave ice from the happy, bright, Ala Moana store.
Unilocal 365 Challenge #66/​365